The Ocean Beach Town Council gave its blessing to CVS Pharmacy to move into the former site of the Apple Tree Market, allowing the business to also have an alcohol license, which CVS said was critical to deciding whether to take over the location. Photo by Tony de Garate I The Beacon

CVS Pharmacy’s plan to occupy the long-dormant Apple Tree supermarket at 4949 Santa Monica Ave. took a step forward this month when the Ocean Beach Planning Board threw its weight behind a request for a license to sell beer, wine and spirits.

The board voted 8-2-1 in support of alcohol at a future CVS at its monthly meeting Dec. 4, citing a “community benefits package,” in which the pharmacy chain had pledged to be a responsible tenant and active member to the community.

But opponents said CVS would be a poor fit because Ocean Beach lacks a supermarket and already has a pharmacy in Rite Aid, a few blocks away.

The OBPB plays only an advisory board to the city but, in this case, could play a big role in determining whether liquor may be sold at CVS. The state department of Alcohol Beverage Control, which rules on liquor license applications, has said the building is located in a census tract that has exceeded its allotment of licenses. Such a condition requires an additional approval from San Diego police — known legally as a finding of “public convenience or necessity” — and police say community support is an important factor in making that determination.

The ability to sell alcohol is all-important to the pharmacy — corporate officials said CVS won’t move in without a liquor license. If police eventually make a finding in CVS’ favor, the pharmacy will formally submit a Class 21 liquor license application to the state, which triggers notification and public comment requirements.

The OBPB’s vote to support CVS came as a surprise to many. Just one month earlier, in front of an audience of more than three-dozen citizens largely opposed to CVS, the board tabled the matter to wait and see how police would decide. State law gives police 90 days, placing the deadline to sometime in January.

But OBPB chairman Tom Gawronski said waiting for police to go first amounted to an abdication of the board’s role to represent the community and asked fellow board members to take the matter off the table earlier. He also cited the newly released benefits package, which had been negotiated between CVS representatives, Ocean Beach Town Council president Gretchen Kinney Newsom and the Ocean Beach MainStreet AssociaNeetion.

The push for a benefits package began in November, when Newsom brought the matter up before the OBPB. She cited Rite Aid as a less-than-enthusiastic civic booster, charging the outlet had declined to host receptacles for the Town Council-sponsored Food and Toy Drive, and feared corporate policies could similarly undercut CVS’ participation in the community.

“We wanted to know how CVS could be beneficial to the community. And that’s why the Town Council stepped in. (CVS) accepted everything the OB Town Council requested,” Kinney Newsom said.

“I support CVS and think that’s the best tenant we’re going to get. What they’ve offered is amazing,” he said. “Although we want a supermarket, I think (CVS) is going to be an asset and clean up the neighborhood.”